Fairtrade Fortnight

FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT  22  FEBRUARY – 7 MARCH  2010

Visit the display and stall in St. Laurence's Church
(open each day from 11 am to 4 pm)

St Laurence is now a Fairtrade Church. A thank you letter has been received from the Fairtrade Foundation along with the certificate both of which are on display during Fairtrade Fortnight. Faith groups continue to be key supporters of Fairtrade which is making a real difference to the lives of more than 7 million farmers, workers and their families in 59 developing countries. Nearly 6,000 Churches in the UK have met the goals to become a Fairtrade Church. 

The three goals a church must fulfil are:

• Use Fairtrade tea and coffee after services and in all meetings for which they have responsibility

• Move forward on using other Fairtrade products such as sugar, biscuits and fruit

• Promote Fairtrade during Fairtrade Fortnight and during the year through events, worship and other activities whenever possible.

Fairtrade Communion Wine is now in use throughout the team.

Please do visit the Traidcraft Stall and display during Fairtrade Fortnight situated on the left as you enter the Church just behind the font. Produce can be taken to the shop to purchase, whenever The Church is open. The focus is on the tea industry and there is a DVD playing which tells the story of Tea. ‘Leave a tea stain on your table, not your conscience’ is the  campaign booklet you are encouraged you to fill in and send off!  We hope every one will also take part in Fairtrades’s  BIG SWAP.

Make every cuppa a Fairtrade cuppa!

Over 20 million people in developing countries rely on the tea industry for their livelihoods. But it is small-scale farmers and workers who benefit the least from it. Many lead extremely hard lives, doing physically demanding work for low pay.

As UK consumers we have the power to tackle this injustice. The UK is the world's third biggest importer of tea – that makes us a powerful player in the global tea trade.

Watch a short film showing the impact of Fairtrade on tea farmers

Make it Fair

A whopping 55,300 messages have been sent to the UK's big 5 tea brands asking them to go Fairtrade! Thank you! Join in:http://bit.ly/6IY1SU 14 hours ago reply

"You are the buyers, you have a voice. There are things you can correct, things that are being done which are not good. You have that power" Edward, a tea picker in Kenya, sends a message to UK tea drinkers

Download our case study booklet to read more

Watch "The Tea Story"

A message from The Fairtrade Foundation:

‘For this year's Fairtrade Fortnight we're asking the nation to join us in The Big Swap. For two whole weeks we'll be asking you to swap your usual stuff for Fairtrade stuff. Your usual bananas for Fairtrade bananas, your usual cotton socks for Fairtrade cotton socks, and your usual cuppa for a Fairtrade cuppa. Whenever you pop to the shops, you can use your wallet to make a stand.’

For more ideas about the Big Swap visit

‘This then is the home of all things swap, a hub for all your swapping needs. It tells you how to get involved, what you can swap and most importantly, how to register them. Because we need lots of swaps made. One million and one in fact. Every swap will be proof that the people of the UK want producers in the developing world to get a fairer deal.’

Parish Breakfast 7 March

 Other links :

Traidcraft home page

Fairtrade home page

Fairtrade The Big Swap

The Little Book of Swaps download

Try the fairtrade fortnight quiz

Look at  Tea Service

Reports 

Tipping The Balance download
The Fairtrade Foundation's strategy 2008 to 2012

The Global Food Crisis and Fairtrade download

Evaluation of the impact of Fairtrade Towns download

Church Action Guide download

Recipes download

A review of the impact of Fairtrade over the last ten years download
(Natural Resources Institute, September 2009)